Rio Libre
The Free City Timeline 2020-2034-Early Post-Shift Period: During the Shift period, many of the costal areas of Peru were flooded, driving more people inland to avoid the destruction. Resources were scarce, even in the following years after the Shift, people were desperate for enough supplies to provide for their families. The small communities that were formed usually didn’t last too long, as it would be torn apart by invading raiders. People were much safer in smaller groups hiding out in the jungles. It was a hard life, but people managed as best they could. As time went on, though, they would find that managing as best they could would not be enough. This would come to change when one Lucio Monte enacted his solution to the public’s problem. 2035-2050-A Terrible Reign: Lucio Monte had been the son of a mayor in Peruvian town and due to his father’s connections managed to be sent to a “safe house” where he was saved from most of the destruction of the Shift. When the Shift had subsided and the world was left anew, he decided that he would create a new civilization, one better than the previous. With a small force, those who were at the “safe house” with him, he managed to take over a nearly abandoned military base and scavenge supplies from there. It had a good surplus of food, materials, and armaments. It was everything he needed to start up a new society, one in which he could ensure the safety of his people. It wouldn’t take long for people to start flocking to the base and start construction of makeshift town. However, a few years after the town had been built, Lucio had come down with a terrible illness which ended up taking his life. As a result, his son, Victor, took over. Victor was a very different man compared to his father. While his father Lucio was strict, he was a fair leader. He was a man who wanted what was best for the majority. Victor did not share such beliefs. He was a paranoid man, a man who cared only for himself. Further, unlike his father, Victor had been blessed with a powerful ability, one he could use to better control the town. His ability allowed him to turn into a bull-like monster, earning him the name “Victor the Bull”. During his reign as leader he lessened the rations that the town had, held tighter restrictions on the rights of the people, and prevented anyone from leaving. He held the entire community hostage, worried that if they were to flee they would come back with resistance. Anyone who even attempted to leave without a very special permit, one that was hard to obtain, they would be killed and put on display as a warning to the rest of the community. Anyone found outside the walls of the town, those who were not already part of the community, would be forced inside. Victor’s rule was one that stricken the hope out of many. All, but a small handful that would come to resist him. 2050-2053-Paving the Way: While Victor’s rule was strict and nearly everyone was watched, a resistance would come to form. The resistance leader was one Ricardo Araya, an architect who helped with much of the town’s layout and construction. Ricardo was a man who was overall beloved by the people, someone they all looked up to. Even Victor considered Ricardo a man worthy of respect and often consulted with him, though he would rarely listen to Ricardo’s pleas for better treatment of the people. There had even been rumors of them being close friends growing up. Ricardo, seeing that change would not come, began leading people out of the city via hidden passages he had installed in several of the buildings he helped design and build. Not having many places to go, he led them to the nearby river of Utcubamba where they had started up small camps. From there, they would begin a new, smaller community which was dubbed Rio Libre, or Free River. 2054-2058-The Free Man’s Revolution: It didn’t take long for Victor to notice a decline in the population. He knew that, somehow, they were finding a way to escape. To prevent this, he took further precautions to ensure that his people would not escape his reign. Be began to abduct people, one member from each family and putting them in large, secured jails. If any member of that family went missing the jailed member would be scheduled for execution. Those at Rio Libre eventually caught wind of this news and would not stand for it. Uniting under Ricardo, the people of Rio Libre began a revolution against Victor, launching surprise attacks on the prison and free those who wished to escape Victor’s rule. Victor did his best to launch counterattacks and try to steal back his public, steal back his control, but overall…he struggled. His struggles would end up coming short, and the rebels and liberators of Rio Libre would come out on top. Victor was imprisoned and his town was disbanded. Victor would remain imprisoned for eighteen years before his release for good behavior and repentance for his crimes. He would further redeem himself with the later construction of the Rio Libre’s first public archives and be regarded as a purveyor of knowledge and history. 2059-2119 (Current)-Along the River, the Free City: In the years to follow the Free Man’s Revolution Rio Libre had grown, stretching down the Utcubamba River and connecting several towns and notable locations. Most of the town itself was built directly on the river, buildings connected through bridges and docks. For the sections of the town that stretch up into the mountains there are small roads and stairways which make travel relatively easy. The people of Rio Libre are very traditional, having steadfast beliefs in family, freedom, and peace, having several holidays to celebrate these ideas. Some events include Festival de Liberacion, Semana Unida, and Toro y Héroe Día. As the community spread eventually they stumbled upon ruins up in the mountains. They were ruined long before the Shift, but yet still intact. The ruins were known as Kuélap, at least in the older books, but most of the history of these ruins was long gone. Only small remarks in regard to the people, who were known as the Cloud Warriors, though it is hard to say what that really meant. Regardless of its past, the people of Rio Libre decided to put the ruins to use, adding some of their own structures while still trying to keep the old ones intact. What had started as a small camp had expanded into a vast city but keeping a rather old and refined setting. Rio Libre has begun a monument to freedom, a beacon to any who are oppressed to rise up and fight for their rights. Districts The City of Rio Libre is smaller compared to many of the other mega cities and has been split into three main distracts. Nueva Cuipes Nueva Cuipes is the primary distract of the town encompassing the river. The majority of the locals can be found in this area among the homes and shops built right onto the river. Notably there is the Libre Archives, Shop Row, and Archway. Nube District The Nube District can be found up on the mountain side, which can be reached via several small roads and/or stone stairways. Here the ruins of Kuélap can be found, along with a few other residential areas. Additionally, there is Luzema Cueva and the Araya Observatory. At the very end of Kuélap there is a large manor house which acts as the presidential home. Yumbilla Yumbilla can be found right in the mountain’s wall is a large, natural crevice which was formed during the Shift. Showering down, right along the crevice’s opening is a waterfall which is stems from the top of the mountain. The ceiling of the crevice has several clusters of crystals (under which warning signs have been placed) which had to the area’s beauty. Yumbilla is known specifically for the tourists spots and several inns. Nearby Nearby the city there are a few locations of note. To the West there is the large of port of Nueva Chiclayo in the Chiclayo bay which has a road that connects directly to Rio Libre. To the North of Rio Libre an old cave was unearthed which evidentially leads to an old, underground, ruined temple, however the government has closed it off. Only a few miles to the South of the city there is a small jail which has been outfitted by Yunion with modern means to jail empowered villains. The Toroj Penitentiary is one of the most secure locations next to the presidential home in Kuélap. Things to Know * While its location is remote, it still stands to be a popular vacation spot and trading port. The older aesthetic, lacking any form of skyscrapers and instead only having buildings made from stone and wood, and the vast amount of handmade crafts are popular draws to the public. Though, the greatest pull for tourists is the several swimming holes and waterfalls which make great bathing spots. * As for trade and exports, this town mainly sells a vast number of herbs which are great for remedying illnesses, and several handmade crafts made with extraordinary skill. The crops the farmers produce is also of impressive quality! * The main thing the town lacks is a large military or a strong police force. The city is mainly defended by local empowered and a unified militia, though it has never needed it outside of the Free Man’s Rebellion. * In terms of government, there is a president elected every four years and an elected house to enforce the law and ensure that the president doesn’t go overboard with his power. Category:City-States Category:Goodbottom Category:Important